1000 Nightmares, 1 Dream
by LordLenne
Summary: All Lucas wanted right now was to finish high school. That required him to struggle through all the bullying and abuse he took every day against his sexuality, until one day a new student shows up to help him out. All while Lucas falls for him.
1. Only One Good Dream

**Warnings:** Strong language, homophobic slurs.

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Chapter 1: Only One Good Dream

"Time to wake up, sweetie," his mother said, pushing him slightly.

Lucas opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room, snuggling into a cotton blanket and closing his blue eyes again. It couldn't be morning yet, he had just fallen asleep. So, he turned over to the left side of his bed where he kept his alarm clock. He read a half past six, and let out a disappointed groan.

He wasn't whining because he was tired. It was because he finally had a vivid dream after countless nightmares. It was a good dream—so realistic, and worthy of sleeping in to extend it. He stretched out, letting a groan and running his fingers through his messy blonde hair. Maybe it was time for a haircut, he deeply thought, until he noticed that his mother had disappeared and his room lights were on. How did that happen? Maybe he fell asleep and he didn't notice.

Having a frequently wandering mind, it seemed to happen a lot.

He walked over to his closet and shoved on some jeans he had been wearing for the past few days—which no one ever noticed. He pulled off his striped shirt and put on a plain crimson sweater that hung loosely around his hands, and folded the sleeves to be just above his wrists. He slowly trudged into his bathroom, the thoughts from his recent dream still attacking his mind.

He remembered being in a genuine world, first-hand witnessing a dark-haired boy kissing him. The sensitive touch between their lips was perfect: not too rough, but also not too gentle. They held hands while an ocean wave wrapped their feet, and the sky was completely silent save the warm sun blanketing them. His dream was completely different than his usual, daily fantasies. It felt more…love filled.

" _Heh, I sure think like a true gay,"_ he thought and smiled after looking at his miserable self in the mirror. It wasn't a happy smile though—it was a strained smile that anyone could deduce at a glance to be an anguished one. He relished in whatever bits of amusement he could gather from his smile, and wiped it from his face. Never has he attempted to ruin his Christian family's happiness with his own misery, and it was not going to be today. He still thought of the consequences if he tried to, though. The best outcome would have him sent to an extremely religious church and have bibles shoved in his face, telling him he needed the blessings of Jesus to save him until his sexuality was completely turned around.

That was his life in a nutshell: just a burdening outlier that everyone knew about.

He still found it amazing that he survived three years of tormenting high school life. He didn't expect anything different each new day. It was his last year attending a horrible school, and with only five months left. At the very least, he could muster enough will to see it through to the end, right? It's not like he was going to college or anything; his family could never afford it. At least, for _him_.

He finished brushing his teeth and washed his face before walking down the hall way into the kitchen to see his twin brother shoving pancakes into his mouth and father calmly drinking coffee.

"Nice of you to finally join us Lucas," his mother said from her spot at the oven. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, actually. I didn't have a nightmare this time, so I guess that's normal?" he questioned, sitting himself down.

His mother walked over to the table with a single hot and ready omelet, the same size as Claus's pancakes, and smiled. "Must have been a pleasant dream then."

"I bet it was about something gay," his brother uttered right before stuffing his mouth with a pancake.

"Claus!" his mother hissed.

"It's okay, Mom. It's not like I haven't heard that joke before," Lucas declared, letting out an exhausted sigh as he sat down.

"Sorry, Lucas, I didn't mean it like that," Claus added.

"…Whatever." Lucas shrunk into his seat, his appetite suddenly gone. him placing his fork down and pushing the plate away.

Claus shrugged and casually grabbed Lucas's plate, eating its contents as if it was a daily routine.

The twins' father, not noticing what happened the past minute or two, checked his watch and thought about how long it usually took to escort his kids to school, and estimate when he would get back home. "I think it's time for us to get going."

Lucas looked to the other clock hanging on the wall. "Oh, we probably should." He carefully retreated from the table, staring at Claus in the process.

Claus smiled, and looked to his father. He ceased eating and exited his seat. "It's okay, Dad. We'll walk to school today."

The father nodded, grinning weakly. "Just be safe."

"We will," Lucas responded, returning the same grin.

Their mother handed the boys their backpacks and they turned their backs to the house, dashing out the door and onto the sidewalk. Claus was the only one that signaled back to their worrying mother as they strayed farther from the house.

"So, Lucas," Claus voiced once they were far enough.

Lucas stopped his thoughts from wandering, and looked over to his brother. "Yeah?"

"How have you been? You're still getting bullied at school…" his words trailed off at this, looking away from Lucas. The blonde looked down, not wanting to meet his brother's eyes should they turn back to him.

"Yeah, I am, but I'm learning to ignore it," he answered. "I just don't like it when it gets physical. Luckily, that doesn't happen too often."

Claus couldn't find his words, and just stared at him sadly. The rest of the walk was quiet. Lucas returned to studying where the cemented path they walked was cracked and where the weeds and flowers grew, mesmerized by the different shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns he saw. He had to learn this stuff if he was to become an artist.

They arrived at their school around ten minutes later, reaching the parking lot for students. Claus waved to Lucas and left to go to his friend group, leaving Lucas to just walk to his class or sit on the curb of the road, drawing something until the bell for first period rang. He would often stare at some trees that grew in the front of the school, drawing them each half season to later compare their differences and his growing art ability. Today was a good day, as the new semester brought the middle of winter. And at times, a kid would forget the existence of rules and climb it, allowing Lucas to study how each person sat or how they climbed. It was better practice than it seemed it would be.

Lucas only managed to make a base sketch of the few trees he typically drew in a new page of his drawing pad. The bell rang sooner than expected, or perhaps he lost himself in his thoughts more than usual. No matter—maybe the next time he got to school early, he'd finish it hopefully no longer than a week later because he knew a lot could change in a week.

Just as Lucas was about to cross the lot, a car that he almost failed to notice suddenly pulled in front of him and settled in a nearby parking spot. He looked to see who was in the car—and if the sole, young looking boy in the driver's seat was a senior student, then he was an unfamiliar face as Lucas was positive he had good memory of all the students that progressed high school with him. It then became obvious he was a student—likely new at that—slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he left his car. Lucas analyzed his characteristics: disheveled dark hair, a leather jacket over a blue shirt, and jeans of same design brand of his own. For now, the male wore a stern expression on his face, and looked like someone who wouldn't let his feelings show so easily in the open. Although, Lucas caught a very rare glimpse of what looked like the boy scowling at the sight of the school just for a moment.

Remembering that the race to first period was still in effect, Lucas rushed into the crowd, trying to hide in the mess of people, but that was his first mistake of the day. Still, he ignored the brunette and blonde cheerleaders who spotted and yelled out to him of how much a fag he was as he continued walking. He snuck into his classroom, in there before the teacher as usual. He took out his drawing pad, studying a nearby plant to the desk he chose to sit at. He studied the deformed shadows made by the leaves, how the plant sat in the dirt, how the leaves slanted and curved, and noted every detail as he scratched the sheet with his pencil. It took him until the teacher walked in to finish the drawing, putting on the last mark.

"Oh, good morning, Lucas," Mr. Duster voiced, not surprised at all.

"Hi Mr. Duster," the boy answered quickly though quietly. Lucas put his pencil back at the top of the desk, before changing his mind and grabbing it, going to the pencil sharpener.

"Just drawing again?" his teacher asked, placing his laptop on the desk and turning it on before grabbing an insane amount of test papers, all looking to be graded.

"Yeah, I was drawing your plant over there. Which, by the way, may need some water," Lucas remarked, smiling and pulling his pencil out.

Mr. Duster was always his favorite teacher, as he was one who knew about his sexuality and never questioned it, and made sure the kids would not tease him in his class. It was a comforting thought to know that one person out there would not mind if he kissed another male in his presence. The only annoying thing about Mr. Duster was that "Duster" was his first name, that there was a lack of a true last name, and no one in the class could never discover what it was or why he would intentionally hide it.

Mr. Duster beamed innocently and laughed, still striking a pure connection of friendliness with his student. "Yeah, it probably should. Do you mind doing it for me?"

"It can the water from my water bottle as long as you promise to let me go get some more," Lucas answered jokingly.

"Go right ahead."

Lucas smiled as he grabbed his transparent water bottle, walking over to the plant and pouring some in. Half of it was gone by the time the plant received enough to fill its surface area, so he traveled to the nearest water fountain to go refill it.

On the way there, he passed by the new student again, who once had a stern look but now had a frown, staring at the wall and looking lonely. Lucas kept his head turned in a different direction and walked towards the water fountain inconveniently besides the unsuspecting male. He refilled his bottle and then walked back, ignoring the snide comments that were thrown at him.

When Lucas arrived back at the room, there were three additional classmates. All were sitting in a small group, and talking to each other, not perceiving Lucas's entry. Mr. Duster didn't notice as one hopped on top of a desk, something that he never really liked, nor did Lucas's often lawfully good personality. But, not wanting to put any more attention on him, Lucas just shrunk back into his desk, pulling out a blank piece of paper and started drawing again.

Soon enough, everyone started to pile into the classroom, with the noise levels desensitizing Mr. Duster's hearing enough for him to ignore the critical occurrences before the beginning of his class. This included the many incoming students who shared their morning jab at Lucas, with a few going as far as flicking his forehead. The blonde ignored the taps at his skull, since it was not something that happened every day.

And by the time all the desks were filled except for a few, was when the new kid walked in with the same old smug but dead expression on his face he had on the other two times Lucas had seen him. He gave something to the teacher, who took his time to smooth out the crumbled paper. Mr. Duster cleared his throat before he read it in the front of the room, catching everyone's attention.

"This is Ness Hudgens. He just started school here, so be nice to him," he announced. He tapped Ness's shoulder, and pointed him to the empty desks around Lucas. Ness started to walk to one of the desks as the teacher turned around and started to write something about grammar on the board, talking while doing so.

Ness's eyes lingered a bit longer on Lucas than did the rest of the room, enough for the blonde to notice the other's eye colors. They were violet—a strong violet, so vibrant and vigorous. Lucas never expected to meet someone with an astonishing eye color. Perhaps he made a mistake and the room lighting had darkened for a moment, and maybe they were pink or red, but that was still a case of eccentricity. It was at that point Lucas wished he was born with purple eyes, as the new boy must be seeing the world so differently like he was.

The lesson went on, but thoughts about Ness lingered through Lucas's mind, until he realized his pencil needed sharpening again. So, he got up and went to pencil sharpener, listening to the silent sounds it made as each spin made its way around. Being satisfied with how sharp it was, he made his way back to his desk. But when he saw a foot stick out in front of him, there wasn't enough time to walk over it. He fell onto the cold tiled floor, almost breaking his nose had he not put out his arm in time, but it quickly collapsed under his weight and he stumbled onto the floor while banging parts of his body against a few desk foundations. Lucas let out a groan, focusing on his own pain and ignored the laughter from the entire class.

As he slowly made his way up, he looked over at Ness to see if he was just another sheep in the crowd who would join in mocking him, yet he wasn't laughing. He actually looked angry, and when their eyes locked for just a second, Lucas could feel the anger resonating. But the dark-haired boy didn't move. It was as if he wanted to, but was taught not to interfere, or was trying to teach Lucas to stand up for himself. Before the blonde could figure anything out, Ness was looking away, his frown going deeper.

"Pokey!" Lucas heard Mr. Duster shout at the front of the class. "Outside, _now_!" he shouted, making Pokey grumble and get up, kicking Lucas's head and bruising his cheek. Lucas gave another grunt and stood up, sitting back into his desk, after catching a quick glance to Ness who was looking the other way, towards the direction of the windows.

Even nastier comments were passed to him throughout the day as Mr. Duster took his time phoning for an escort to pick up the troublemaker standing outside, and when he was resuming the lesson. He never noticed the notes and whispers flowing around the room as they were said while he was talking. The most significant one was a comment from a blonde female with a red bow in her hair who told him as they were passing around worksheets.

"Nice trip earlier, faggot," she added while smirking.

"Yeah, nice," Lucas remarked exhaustedly.

First period ended, and Lucas rushed out the class. He didn't see Pokey's unpleasantness for now, and traveled to his locker to retrieve his art binder while ignoring the callouts of bullies trying to catch up to him. But as soon as he grasped his binder, it slipped out of his hand from the shock of pain shooting his back, feeling the presence of a familiar body behind him.

"Why'd you get me in trouble, you fucking faggot?" Pokey hissed to the smaller teenager. He had him in a neck lock, keeping the blonde from escaping.

"I didn't—" Lucas stammered, closing his eyes. His hands fumbled to grasp his loose shirt. Pokey insisted it was Lucas's intention, and continued to ask him the same question, pressing harder into Lucas's neck.

"Hey!"

Both boys heard the yell coming from someone else. Lucas lifted his head back up and opened his eyes, only to find Ness running his way, his backpack on the floor behind him. His expression was fiercer this time as Pokey quickly let go of Lucas, causing him to fall to the ground in a coughing fit.

"What the fuck do you want?" Pokey shouted. He straightened up his back, pulling out his shoulders to make himself seem bigger to the taller male. But Ness didn't back down, and when he saw the state Lucas was in, his knuckles balled up tight and turned white.

"Why are you picking on him?" Ness growled with clenched teeth.

"Why wouldn't I? He's just a stupid fag," Pokey spat out. He turned his attention back to Lucas, readying a punch to send his way, but was stopped as his shirt collar was grabbed.

"Don't call him a _fag_." The word made Ness crack, causing him to punch Pokey under his jaw and knocking him into the lockers with a loud bang.

Ness didn't have much more time to do anything else to the downed boy, as the blonde from first period caught attention of the scene and grabbed Ness to suddenly kiss him, leaving a shocked expression all over his face.

"Nice job, hottie," the girl said as soon as she pulled away. "But let's just leave them, and maybe spend more time with me instead?"

A grin was then painted on Ness's face, and he let her grab him by the arm as they walked away. Lucas watched the two leave the scene, staring mainly at Ness's back. He found it odd how sudden his mood had changed with a kiss, and how willing he was to go with the girl.

Lucas slowly got up, looking at Pokey only to see his eyes closed and a small amount of blood coming from his mouth. Ness had surely hit him that hard, and the only thought that came after was that he probably should not mess with the new guy.

The rest of the day went by normally, the usual people still bullying him, but they consisted of the usual verbal attacks and nothing more. Lucas walked back home with Claus, telling him about the few highlights of his day before Claus went on about how he got a B+ on a test and was irritated about it because he clearly did everything right. His rant made Lucas grin as he continued to look at the ground.

It wasn't until they got home that their mother noticed and fretted about the bruise that was painted on Lucas's cheek. Their mother convinced Lucas to put an ice pack on it, insisting on telling him to tell her how it happened.

Though the cause of the bruise was admitted, their father forced Lucas to explain any other happenings at their new school day, which Lucas obliged after Claus mistakenly slipped out a word of his struggle with a classmate. His mother only gasped as the story continued, and his father emotionless, almost looking rather disappointed. Then, Claus grabbed the conversation and talked about his grades, followed by regular dinner at the Westwood household.

Not even the shower refreshed his mind and heart like it normally did. Instead, he broke down this time, the tears coming naturally. He didn't know what happened to himself—things like this happened every day for nearly three and a half years already and he rarely ever cried, but this one day was just worse than he imagined. He didn't know whether it was from the new guy, or from the rough physical contact he got and how his family treated it as a casual conversation save his mother, or from his lingering regret of letting his sexuality be outed by bullies from a mistake. He couldn't tell what the reasons were, he just knew he needed the world to stop for a moment for him to let it all out. As a result, his shower was longer than normal, no matter how hard he forced the tears to slide down his cheeks.

By the time he came out of the bathroom, it was not only late, but Claus was already tucked into the bed next to Lucas's. Lucas crept over and lied down, refusing to cover himself with his blanket.

And as he slowly fell asleep, his thoughts boiled back to Ness Hudgens.


	2. Drawing A Connection

Chapter 2: Drawing A Connection

Lucas listened to the clacking of silverware against one another, mixed in with occasional mumbles that were passed around the dining table. It was still one of the quietest mornings in the household, with each member of his family still half asleep in their dream worlds.

"So, Lucas, your bruise is finally starting to heal up," his mother stated, breaking the silence in the house. Lucas nodded and went back to eating his breakfast. Finishing up her task of washing silverware, she turned back to the table, announcing her inquiry so that everyone would listen. "When does the swim club start up again?"

The little dregs of fatigue left in Lucas suddenly disappeared when he heard the question. "Next Monday until five," he answered. "I'll probably walk home instead of having you pick me up that day, is that okay?" He returned, picking his head up and staring at the cerulean eyes that his mother shared with him. They looked as compassionate and kind since he could remember from a young age once he first noticed their beauty, and Lucas drank the look up while he still could. Never in all his life was his mother so reserved about anything for him or his brother, even after he revealed his sexuality to her.

"Sure, sweetie," she kept her mouth open for a few seconds more, as if she was going to say something else, but then decided against it once remembering to value her son's independence.

"Also, today I plan on going to the pool to practice," Lucas added. "I might be there for an hour or so, is that all right too?"

His mother looked away in thought and he could see her expression change into something more hesitant. She never liked for Lucas to be too independent, despite him being seventeen. Without a companion, if not Lucas's twin brother, she was more concerned about him getting hurt, or worse. Eventually, she gave up and only hoped for the best.

"I guess," she settled on. "Just be very careful. Call me once you finish and start heading home, and make sure to be back before dinner, okay?"

"I promise, Mom," he answered. "I'll be back before six at best." He put his emptied plate in the sink before slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Walking again?" his father asked. Lucas responded with a simple nod.

"Leaving ahead of me?" Claus then asked, still eating breakfast at the table.

"I want to get there before we're anymore late," Lucas retorted. He ignored his brother's shrug, and walked out of the house, pacing his feet faster than yesterday.

His legs ached by the time he reached the school. He wasted no time getting to Mr. Duster's class as he was already late, although he hated to admit that. No one paid attention to him when he entered the classroom, as all were lost in studying their notes for the upcoming test less than ten minutes away. The only one to look up at him was Ness Hudgens, who sat at the same seat as yesterday. He had nothing on his desk, and he looked as if the fact he had nothing to study for was the best thing to happen to him.

He noticed Lucas gazing at him and stared right back, eyes connecting for a few quick seconds before Ness pulled away and put back on a stern-looking disguise. The blonde saw Ness's features flicker when their eyes met, noticing the dark-haired's soft expressions before they were concealed away. Lucas felt a slight blush.

Remembering the time, Lucas rushed into his seat while trying not to make any subtle misimpressions, attempting to keep a calm self in front of the new student. He quickly pulled out the study notes from his backpack, barely able to read the first page once Mr. Duster called time. He swore under his breath and put the notes away, writing his name as he got the test paper. The test ended up being easy though, taking him no more than twenty minutes for an easy A grade.

He watched the other students continue taking their tests, seeing a few struggling faces and silently mocked those that lacked academics. Without turning his head too much, he averted his eyes to Ness, who looked bored for the past twenty minutes, being excluded from the test. Lucas studied the boy's pose—how his palm was a foundation to hold his head, but failed to cover much of his round cheeks, and how everything about his ink hair and revealed skin showed a balance of dark and light. It was an amazing sight to behold, enough for Lucas to instinctively pull out his sketch book and scribble lines on the paper, hoping for it to come out with a picture before the pose went away.

Soon enough, the bell rang for second period and Ness was hovering over his shoulder before Lucas could put anything up.

"Is that me?" Ness asked.

Lucas looked down at his pad and sure enough, it was. He had drawn Ness Hudgens smiling at the viewer, with his hair softly combed, and his shirt collar popped. He was amazed at himself not because of how fast he sketched, but how he did not even concisely remember drawing a flattering portrait.

"Uh—I, um…" he stammered, trying to cover the picture up. Before Ness could say anything more, Lucas hurried to stumble out of the room, heart beating hard in his ears.

Lucas rushed to second period and didn't wait for his art teacher to announce the agenda for the day. He took charcoal and scratched at his canvas furiously, adding trees and shades. His hands flowed at the same time the picture molded in his mind, the lines appearing before he could realize what he made. He finished fifteen minutes later, relaxing his dirtied hands. He stared at the drawing he barely remembered doing. It was a shaded boy standing in a dark forest, holding up a lantern while cowering in the little light it displayed. Blackened hands laced towards the boy, calling his name, asking him to step into the darkness. For a moment, Lucas felt something eerily nostalgic, recalling this exact vivid scene from one of his many nightmares. From when, he did not know, maybe it was too long ago. No matter what, he did not want to remember any relevant scenes of his dreams or how he felt waking up that morning.

Lucas hid the drawing before his art teacher could see it and took another sheet of paper along with colored pencils. He read the board and started to work on that day's assignment, which was to draw something with the subject of happiness. He decided to go with sunflowers under a radiant sky and sun, as a certain feeling from that scenery comforted him. His drawing had many bright colors in it in contrast to the nightmare he drew.

Lucas smiled as he drew, and put the finishing touches on his drawing. He signed his name and turned it in right before the bell rang.

Soon fifth period rolled into the day. It was a class Lucas completely despised and would stay away from if his lunch eligibility was not determined by him being present there. Many of his class peers were especially Christian, and witnessing that the teacher liked to tie in religious history as a part of world history, it was difficult to endure on top of the teasing and gossip he received. However, the rest of the subject at hand, Lucas was a natural at it, and cleared the day's assignment with ease.

The rest of the day went by quickly, with Lucas taking extra measures to avoid Ness so as not to risk having a panic attack. He remembered seeing the boy's face yesterday during some of the passing periods between classes, and decided to take different paths to his classes, usually being a longer way around. Once the final class of the day ended, he slipped out of the main school building and rushed over to the pool building, using the main doors instead of the locker room entry doors.

Lucas gasped in the densely moisturized air as soon as he walked in, refreshed by the hint of chlorine scent. He hadn't been in the building for almost a month due to the semester change, and felt at peace being back. He remembered the first day he wandered to the pool building by himself, being met by a few swim club members, and was invited to tryout and join. It was on that day he was surprised to learn of his own moderate swimming ability, but joined the club for recreational purposes. As an official member, he gained his own locker, and all-time access to the pool whenever school was open or for a few hours after school only in exchange for promising to participate in the swim meets and a few competitions. Lucas sought to take advantage of the pool's loneliness, trying to swim only when the other members were not present, but did not entirely mind being with them during swim meets or on other occasions.

He walked into the locker room and changed into his personal swimsuit—decorated red with two vertical yellow stripes. Finally, Lucas found himself on a diving board, a smile sneaking into his expression right before he jumped, and swam to the other side of the pool. He continued to swim steady freestyle strokes, breathing in air as his head bobbed to the side and breathing out into the water as he was advised. He kept a steady pace going back and forth, until he heard the door to the locker rooms screech open. His pace was disturbed, and he flustered in his spot to stand and look to the door.

"Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in here."

It was Ness who entered, dressed in one of the spare jammers found in the locker room. Lucas could hear his heart beat in his ear again, although this time it was as if it was right beside his ear. He quickly turned around and plopped himself into the water in an attempt to hide himself, even though Ness did not realize it was him quite yet. There was no chance Lucas could sneak out, and he knew he had to force himself to engage in a conversation with the other boy. He cursed to himself under the water, feeling the air bubbles brush his face. He stood back up just as Ness gracefully dove into the pool in the lane next to him, watching him swim forward for a few seconds only to stop right next to him. Ness surfaced and shook out the water from his head, smiling at the blonde and immediately recognized him.

"You're the guy who drew me, aren't you?" he asked with amusement.

Lucas answered with a small nod and tried to prevent himself from climbing out the water and sprinting out the building. He focused on his breathing and ignored the intense feelings he was holding back.

"Wow," Ness voiced as he threw his arms over the buoy line separating them. "You've drawn me already and I don't even know your name." He gave an awkward, but genuine laugh while Lucas only relished in the beauty of Ness's eyes again. His eyes sparkled under the skylight above them, and his pupils were more noticeable, allowing Lucas to figure out just what shade of purple his irises were.

"Lucas," the blonde responded bluntly.

"Lucas," Ness repeated, playing with the name. He sounded out the two syllables a few more times before he seemed satisfied, and swam across the lane to get closer. Lucas took a few steps back, his back hitting the edge of the pool.

"Relax, Lucas," Ness added, pausing in place. "I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. Ask my little sister—I can be a big teddy bear."

Lucas found it odd on how Ness was telling him this. He let his shoulders relax after considering Ness's lack of intimidation, and eventually calmed down.

"Where is your sister?" Lucas forced himself to ask.

"At the mall with a friend," Ness answered. "I actually have to go pick her up soon."

Lucas mumbled an 'oh,' and submerged half of his face, closing his eyes to think. He could make up an excuse and leave, or he could continue to swim ignoring him until he actually did have to leave. He decided on the latter and opened his eyes to realize that Ness beside him, leaning against the wall. He sighed and looked back over to Lucas.

"This place is pretty cool," he uttered, looking around. His eyes focused on the rays of sunshine that drifted into the pool, creating a wavy white pattern at the bottom.

And as Lucas stared at Ness, pulling his head up out of the water, he realized something. He had no reason to not trust Ness. The new student had been nothing but nice to him, so why was he acting act so reserved?

"It's the only place I can think in peace," Lucas admitted.

"It _is_ calm here," Ness uttered in agreement. "Much calmer than my home…" He trailed off and shook his head. Abandoning his words, he climbed off the side of the pool and kneeled for a moment, looking down at the other boy. "I gotta go before my sister gets worried. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Okay," Lucas whispered.

Ness responded with a small smile, and sounded out a "bye." Lucas watched him retreat into the locker room, and assumed he would leave out the same way he came in.

Lucas took a deep breath after finally being alone and completely at peace again. Though, he only stood in the water, wondering for quite a while.

 _"Did I...just make a friend?"_

 **:*:**

"Hey, Tracy!" Ness shouted, waving over to his younger sister as he walked over. Tracy said a farewell to her friend, and ran up to her big brother.

"Why are you all wet, Ness?" Tracy asked, noticing her brother's hair and face.

"I found out my school had a pool," he answered. "Wanted to try it out before we got home." As they walked back to Ness's car, he ran his fingers through his hair and smeared a trace of water on Tracy's cheek, laughing when she lightly shrieked and wiped the water away.

"That's not funny," Tracy mumbled.

"It is to me," Ness joked. "Anyway, I met this guy named Lucas," Ness started as he unlocked the car. He paused at the door to the driver's seat, causing his sister to pause at the door beside him.

"And?" Tracy urged.

Ness nodded to himself. "And… I have to admit he's pretty hot."

Tracy scoffed in response. "Don't let Mom or Dad hear you say that," she joked.

"Hey, I've kept all this from them for—what, three years now? I think I can keep it from them even if I bang a dude."

"Ness, gross." Ness smirked at her playfulness, and said nothing for the rest of the ride back home.

But Ness didn't just want to _bang_ Lucas, he was sure of that. He wanted to get to know him, too. He wanted to figure out every dark secret that boy was hiding, witnessing his torment firsthand.

In the end, he wanted to fall in love with him, and make sure he felt loved.


End file.
